Marked
by Child of Loki
Summary: Emily and Matt have left their marks on one another. Matt/Emily Quasi-fluff
1. Love Bite

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or its characters…**

**Author's note: Perhaps not sweet enough to be fluff, but just as pointless… Emily/Matt. Team awkwardness.**

**Timeframe: Er… doesn't fit anywhere particularly well, but sometime while Emily is living at Matt's flat, after 4x06...  


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How did these people carry on at all?

The place was utter chaos. Well, organized chaos of a sort, she supposed. Emily stood stock still. She'd never entirely lost her wits before. Not even that first time she found herself stood before the most horrifying living nightmare she had ever beheld. This...this chaos, however, had rendered her completely incapable of action.

It was not so much the loud klaxon or the cacophony of voices and equipment being efficiently packed away that had struck her inert. It was most decidedly the focused people bustling about tasks that had obviously developed into routine. And _she_ had no assistance to render whatsoever in the melee of preparation. Feeling useless was that which she detested most.

Her eyes were inevitably drawn to the enigmatic man whom had insinuated himself into the center of her life. No. Untrue. Her life -_lives _perhaps was the better term- were over a hundred years in the past and some indeterminate eons spread sporadically throughout time. And it was her responsibility to return to that life. Her mere presence could already have disrupted this time beyond repair. At the very least, this time had already disrupted _her_, perhaps beyond repair.

And at the precise center of it all, her life in this place, resided that confounding man.

Matt Anderson briskly, confidently traversed the floor, navigating about various otherwise-engrossed persons with an astonishing ease. Good lord, his air of confidence bordered upon the arrogant. If it weren't for the terrible conflict she discovered in his eyes, the endearing sweetness and humour that he couldn't wholly obscure from the world, she would've classified him as the worst kind. Yet, contrary to the facade -doubtless adorned as a means in which to distance individuals potentially called friends- she was drawn to him.

He made his way towards the workspace that looked like it was the mad dream of a disturbed genius, leaning over the shoulder of the girl sitting at the heart of the contraption. Jess expressed herself with a definite clarity and elocution that nearly bespoke a finishing school of the highest caliber, yet there was no doubt in Emily's mind that the proximity of the pair was a necessity to communicate through the din that filled the room.

Honestly, Emily hadn't the faintest notion of how or even what the young woman did. She had overheard Becker once offering as explanation to a blatant newcomer that 'Jess is our Chloe O'Brien... if Jack Bauer's terrorists were dinosaurs and Chloe had the personality of the girl next door.'

The analogy had made absolutely no sense whatsoever to Emily. What little she was able to glean through further observation held no real revelations, either. As far as she could ascertain, Jess somehow compiled all relevant information and guided her friends in the field (with technology Emily still found herself incapable of comprehending). All she knew was that they never had to go into a situation completely blind. Emily could see the benefit of that without understanding the method.

The information Jess had to impart today was obviously less than satisfactory, for Matt frowned. Well, he did so in as profound a display of emotion as generally was his custom. Which was to say that his brow furrowed slightly and there was a small downturn at the corner of his mouth.

Emily smiled to recall the rare occasion that saw the entire abandon of his reserve. How warm, how expressive a person lay beneath the unflappable, cold exterior when he was given reprieve -if only momentarily- from whatever burden bound him.

"What?" Emily exclaimed, jumping slightly as Abby reached past her. She hadn't even noticed the young blonde approach, hadn't heard her words.

"Can I get by?" She reiterated. "I just need that tranq set over there."

"Oh, sorry, Abby," she apologized, realizing that the woman was after some piece of kit lying on the table behind Emily.

When had she leaned her back against the table?

She must have automatically extricated herself from the main course of traffic. But apparently she was still hindering the gateway chasers' preparations.

She shifted, allowing Abby access to the instruments laid across the glass table top. The young woman gave her a grateful look of acknowledgement before tossing the strange item into the pack she was sorting.

And then she looked at Emily again.

"You've got something on your neck," Abby observed, her eyes narrowing slightly with scrutiny.

"Where?" Emily asked, confused. She couldn't recall any reason why she'd have something on her neck.

"This side. Nearer your collar bone," Abby clarified.

Running her fingertips over the skin, Emily found it to be smooth, absent any foreign substance. Thus she answered Abby's studious gaze with one of consternation.

Then Connor Temple interrupted their odd exchange. Unlike his mindful counterpart, he simply squeezed bodily between the two women, reaching across to pluck some sort of one of those _computer_ devices.

"Ladies," he said as way of begging their pardon after he was already wedged between them. He glanced at Abby, then to Emily. One of those genial grins was plastered on his face, the kind Emily had come to discern as the 'I know I've just made a social misstep but I didn't intend to insult' Connor affectation.

And then he said, "Bit of something on your neck there, Em."

What in the Good Lord's name was it? What was so profoundly apparent to the world but had failed to capture her notice?

Connor leaned in unacceptably close by any standards -futuristic society or not!- and squinted in acute study as Abby had done before him. All this scrutiny was beginning to make Emily feel as if she were some sort of scientific specimen. She backed away from the pair nearly a yard before she felt her personal space had been adequately restored.

"Can anyone tell me precisely what the nature of this horrible disfigurement is?" she asked, trying not to sound desperate and annoyed at the awkward attention of which she was the current recipient.

"It appears to be a love bite," Captain Becker announced dryly. A soldier to the core, they none of them had detected his approach.

_Oh my! Matt hadn't! _The connotation was clear to her, even if the terminology was not. Emily could feel the heat rising in her skin. Desperately she searched the faces of the others in order to determine their reaction.

Despite the flat delivery of the observation, Becker had quirked one eyebrow and the corner of his mouth was curved ever so slightly by a smile. Abby's eyes had widened with realization. But Connor appeared to be lagging behind the curve.

"Who wou-hmmph!" Connor's inquiry was truncated by Abby's impressive reflexes, namely a small elbow to his midsection.

"Anomaly," Becker reminded the distracted pair before determinedly walking off. Apparently, the soldier had garnered enough diversion from her situation. Abby grabbed her pack and gave Connor a pointed look. The young man's expression was one composed of curiosity, embarrassment and much relief for the excuse to depart.

"Erm.. Right," he said, shouldering his own pack before the pair bolted after the soldier. Emily had never seen someone make a strategic withdrawal quite so quickly.

Were her cheeks as flushed as they felt?

Was her shame really that obvious?

The embarrassment was thankfully fleeting, quickly transforming into a humour of an entirely different sort as she laid eyes upon its cause, whom had retired from Jess' side and fast approached her.

_That insufferable man!_

"Coming?" Matt asked, all gentility and innocence. Oh! The masks he wore! But she could see directly through them. It was that faintest twinkle in his eye and the beginnings of a mischievous smile barely visible in his lips that presently gave him away.

She glared at him.

It made her feel a little less furious.

She should've known better, really. The attentions he had paid to her neck persisted far too long to have resulted from simple innocuous affection. He should've mentioned something about the mark he had left on her skin as they hurriedly dressed and dashed out the door, summoned by the emergence of another gateway. There was no possibility that he was not aware that _she_ was not aware. And after all the insistence on his part that no one know of the nature of their intimacy! He had not encouraged her to hide the 'love bite'. He hadn't even warned her of its existence.

Playing with the collar of his shirt that she currently adorned, she tried to cover the mark, all the while sending every hateful thought in her head at him. Why place it in such a visible location when there had been so many other options? Maybe he hadn't been thinking, caught up in the moment. No. No, she could tell by the not quite hidden look on his face that it had been purposefully done. Not unlike an animal marking his territory, he had placed a blatant display of affection upon her. She had encountered his possessive streak before, but thought she had made it abundantly clear how she felt about such an attitude. And he had submitted to being in the wrong upon the subject.

Stoicism appeared to be his tactic of choice. For presently, he just stood before her, taking all of her fury with a slightly amused nonchalance, which should've made her more angry but for some reason did not. Studying the man for whom she could not deny possessing a significant affection, Emily had to admit that it would not be entirely disagreeable to leave her own mark on him -something that announced her connection to him without having to shout it to the world.

However, he could have been a bit more subtle how he went about it…

Apparently, Matt recognized her weakening resolve, for he smiled and winked at her.

"Shall we?" he asked, motioning for her to proceed first.

Emily sighed and accepted his invitation. She didn't even object when his hand came to rest upon the small of her back. Perhaps it was because she found the warmth and implied support of it so utterly enjoyable.

Contrary to what she had feared, it did not feel like a submission, that which characterized her 19th century relationships. Rather, the 'love bite' said _she_ possessed someone's affection. Not that she was possessed _by_ them.

In that sense, Emily could live with being a marked woman.

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**A/N: Finding I'm rather stuck on the potential of these two characters… This was going to be a oneshot, but Matt's POV on this situation has started to bubble. We'll see…**


	2. Control Issues

**Author's note: Apologies for the delay. This somehow ended up much more smutty and lengthy than I originally intended. Also somewhat serious in parts, but it's hard for me to see Matt in character within a completely light piece at this time (before resolving his major mission in life).**

**Warning: Brief smut…nothing too explicit?

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Anomalies always opened at the most inconvenient times...

Inevitably, he'd get the call while in the shower, or sitting down to the first solid meal he'd had in a week, or -his favourite- just as his head hit the pillow. But it was a necessary, immutable fact of Matt Anderson's life working for the ARC, and he had grown to accept it.

It did not, however, follow that he must like it.

And today, he near-hated it.

_Matt awoke in quite a good mood. Of course, a lengthy cuddle with an attractive woman could do that to one. The only prospect more wonderful than it occurring again was to never have to let go of her in the first place. Except they had shifted apart in their sleep. He found Emily lying on her side, her back to him. Cozying up to the placid form, Matt wrapped his arms around her, spooning her close and burying his face in the brown curls falling loosely about her head and shoulders. After a moment enjoying the scent of her hair, he brushed the curls aside to place kisses along the alluring curve of her neck. She murmured, an incoherent but pleased sound._

_His hand slid from her waist, down the front of her hip and further, past the hem of his shirt she wore, until it met the silken skin of her naked thigh. The contact sent a tingling rush through him, reawakening a long-repressed hunger. Emily gasped, she too apparently feeling the electricity of their skin meeting. He placed his other hand firmly against her chest, just below the warm swell of her breasts. Holding her firm, he unabashedly pressed his entire body into the length of hers, his arousal pressing into her back. There was a hiss of air as she inhaled sharply, followed by moans she struggled to confine to the back of her throat._

_He ground his hips against her, groaning over the pleasurable sensation incurred by her proximity and warmth. Her skin was so soft, so sweet that he couldn't resist nibbling at her neck and shoulder. He found a mark he had left there the previous night and admired his handiwork briefly before placing a kiss upon it._

_"Matt." She said his name in a shuddering, breathy voice. He growled, a deep and guttural response that bespoke the primal urges that had commandeered his body and he pressed further into her. _

_"Matt," she said more forcefully. It sounded like a protest and instantly snapped him out of his amorous attentions._

_When had his hand worked the shirt up past her hip? He tugged the hem back down to cover her thigh, and loosened his hold on her, but didn't release her entirely from his embrace._

_"I thought you said it was too early in our acquaintance to engage in this..." She made an appreciative murmur as he stroked the skin along her collarbone and kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. _

_"...activity..." she concluded in a sigh, tilting her head and granting him access to her throat._

_"I said that we hardly knew each other and probably shouldn't move too fast," he corrected between kisses, drawing out the conversation in an attempt to prolong his spooning of the woman._

_"Is that not what I said?" she defended, her hand catching his as it roamed down her stomach, staying its journey just prior to its discovering someplace scandalously interesting._

_"More or less," he conceded, releasing her a little more from his embrace._

_"And?"_

_"And... that was last night," he countered, quickly maneuvering her to lie supine beneath him. Kissing her full on the mouth, he could feel her hesitation melt as she responded by sucking on his bottom lip, her hands gripping his shoulders, her body arching up into him._

_And then his mobile went off..._

"Did you get that, Matt?" Jess asked.

"Not a word. Sorry," he apologized, realizing thoughts of Emily had entirely pulled his attention away from the task at hand.

The young woman began her spiel again, and he tried to concentrate on her words. Really, he did. Only, Emily was standing a few metres away, looking every bit the damsel in distress he knew she wasn't. Creatures she could handle. Feeling useless he knew annoyed her. And the chaos of this century sometimes seemed to throw her for a loop.

He frowned.

But Abby was approaching the lost woman. Hopefully, she'd sort Emily out until Matt could rejoin her.

Thinking Emily in safe hands, he turned back to Jess only to receive a severe 'headmistress' look from the girl. At this point, he'd definitely earned detention, if not a rap on the knuckles with a ruler. He gave her an apologetic look and with a hefty sigh, Jess began the task of trying to brief him yet again.

Only by pure force of will was Matt able to follow Jess' situation summation. He risked a brief glance in Emily's direction only to find that she had been cornered by Abby, Connor and, oddly, Becker. She was blushing and appeared moderately distressed by the presence of his team.

What had they...? The three miscreants fled.

"Thanks, Jess." Matt cut her off mid-sentence before he made his way in as nonchalant a manner as possible towards where Emily was stood looking bewildered.

"Coming?" he asked, unable to keep the smile completely from his lips. Her cheeks were still pink. Her eyes bright and fierce. A noticeable discoloration marred her otherwise untainted complexion at the base of her neck that she rubbed at self-consciously. So, that was the issue...

She glared at him. God, he loved her passion, even when it was fueled by anger and directed at his person.

Perhaps, he shouldn't have given her the love bite. He could say it had been an impulsive act, that he'd been carried away by the moment. However, that just wasn't the truth. He knew that he shouldn't let anyone at the ARC know about his involvement with Emily. He knew he shouldn't be getting involved with Emily at all. But he had been obedient for so long, for all his life. And there was a part of him desperate to rebel. His almost adolescent attraction to the woman didn't help suppress that desire any, either.

She played with the collar of his shirt she adorned, trying to hide the mark. A futile act, since she was not aware of its precise location. He felt a little guilty for embarrassing her.

Emily meant more to him than an adolescent infatuation, didn't she? He'd found women attractive before, lusted for a few. But he'd never felt this sort of connection, a connection that went beyond the physical. Or maybe he'd just never permitted himself feel it...

He studied Emily as she appeared to struggle through her own thoughts. There was no question in his mind how much he liked her. The question was how she felt about him. She had issues with being controlled, and he had acted possessive about her before, much to her chagrin. Did she realize that his intentions had not been to claim her when he'd left the mark on her skin?

Her resolve weakened. He could see it in her eyes as they softened and she subconsciously ran her tongue over her bottom lip. He smiled, knowing she had enjoyed receiving the love bite as much as he had savored bestowing it.

With a wink, he invited her to accompany him out of the ARC.

Her sigh indicated that he wasn't entirely in the clear. But he couldn't be in that much trouble. Emily didn't step out of his reach or swat his hand away when he rested it upon the small of her back. Then again, it might just be out of necessity that she permitted him to guide her. The woman was smart, but even she wouldn't know the ARC well enough yet to navigate the near labyrinthine corridors.

He slowly moved closer to her as they walked, his side brushing against her curves, just to test the waters. She didn't comment or pull away. Surreptitiously, he leaned into her a little more, nuzzling the brown curls of her hair briefly and taking in a deep breath.

Her scent was... heavenly.

"What are you playing at?" She asked, slowing and turning slightly to look at him with amused admonishment in her round eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Matt replied, giving her an arch look before going mute and urging her to continue walking like he hadn't just had a puppy-love moment.

With every step, it became more and more difficult to resist the urge to shove Emily into one of the labs or offices -hell, even a cupboard would do- push her against the wall, and press his body into hers so hard as to render her incapable of breathing but for the shortest of gasps. He wanted to run his hands over her curves. Feel her hot skin slide against his. He wanted to put his name on her lips and kiss it away.

Matt cleared his throat, trying to focus on anything else.

"What are we doing?" Emily asked after a few more silent moments passed.

"Well, if we hurry along, we'll catch up the others and go contain an anomaly," Matt replied, bemused by the odd weight of the inquiry.

She stopped in her tracks, causing him to do likewise and turn to face her.

"No. That's not what I meant," she said, looking intensely up into his face.

"What-?" He began to ask, although he had a decent idea where this was headed. Gently taking her arm, he pulled her to the side of the corridor to allow a young woman in a lab coat to pass. Emily seemed too preoccupied to notice, however, and continued to press her point.

"Why do you make love to me only to push me away again?" she asked desperately. Matt nearly choked at the impropriety of her question, which was definitely not uttered in a whisper that would've been so very preferable. He heard the formally rhythmic footsteps of the female scientist falter. Glancing past Emily, he could see she had slowed. He sighed. No doubt she had heard what Emily said, for the woman was blatantly attempting to eavesdrop further.

Matt really did shove Emily into the nearest lab, only for different reasons than he would've liked. With a quick glance round, he confirmed the room was currently unoccupied. Well, for the most part. Rex chirped and cocked his head at Matt from where he was perched on top of a cabinet. Briefly distracted, Matt made a mental note to have a talk with Abby about letting creatures have the run of the...well, the entire building.

He turned his attention back to Emily, his primary distraction in life, to protest against her assertions.

"We never..." Oh, right. Different era, different connotations.

"You always need to be in control of every situation," Emily accused, not ready to be swayed from her confrontation with him. Apparently, she had something on her mind. Something she wanted to get off her chest.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Matt countered. Control was everything. The only thing. The idea that one could control the fate of the world was what kept him along his insane path. If he lost control, then it was all over.

"Can't you see that it is?" Emily gave him a pained expression. "You accused me of possessing 'trust issues.' But you're the one incapable of trusting others."

Matt tried not to shut down. He didn't want to close himself off to Emily. Instinctively, he buried his feelings and hardened his facade when confronted with such distracting emotions. He fought not to do so now, managing to nod, if not meet Emily's eyes.

"You trust your team with your life, but not with your secret," she continued. "You trusted me enough to tell me that you have a secret but not the specifics of it. You make love to me-"

"The term is 'flirt', Emily," he corrected, adding silently to himself, _And some._

She tensed. He met her eyes and realized he had just proved her point for her. Interrupting her with the correction, he had drawn attention to a triviality, thrown her slightly off kilter, and tried to reclaim some control over the conversation. Because he just couldn't let completely go, could he?

"You. make. love. to. me." She repeated, giving a sharp edge to every word. "But you won't trust your _heart_ to me."

All the doubts, all the uncertainties he'd had since meeting Emily... What she had stirred in him had clashed with all his training, his upbringing, all the preparations he had made, all the organization in his life. Yet there had been one thing he'd been certain of throughout the struggle with himself; he never wanted to hurt Emily.

But here she was stood before him with pain in her eyes. And he would do anything, absolutely _anything_ to take the hurt away.

"I didn't mean to... I don't know how I can prove to you that I trust you," he confessed quietly. "What can I do?"

A wicked grin slowly spread across her face.

…

_You can relinquish control, if only momentarily._

Perhaps, appeasing Emily hadn't been the best of choices.

Matt gave orders as if everything were completely normal, ignoring the smirk on the captain's face and the barely suppressed laughter of the young blonde woman.

After he had finished, he expected them to 'snap to' and carry out his orders. However, they stood there for a moment longer, perhaps hoping he'd offer explanation. He looked at Becker, who cleared his throat and stalked off to complete his assigned task. Abby remained, obviously distracted by something -_someone_- behind him. She was giving the person an admonishing look and he saw her mouth the words: _Connor. Stop._

Matt turned round to catch the young man mid-gesticulation (of what precisely, he couldn't begin to guess, but had a few ideas to what had inspired), who dropped his hands and donned an extremely guilty look.

"Look," Matt began. "We can mill about here all day, or we can go round up the remaining creatures, lock down this anomaly and call it a day."

"No problem, Matt," Abby responded, moving to grab Connor by the arm. "C'mon, Mr. Mime. Let's go."

Matt sighed. He'd never live this down. Of course, he probably deserved it. Had he not done, whether intentional or not, precisely the same to Emily? Of course, no one could say exactly when or how she'd gotten the 'love bite' on her neck. Whereas, it didn't take a master detective in a smoking jacket to figure out the origins of his. He rubbed at his neck, completely blind to how severely she had marked him. Well, physically, anyway. He was quite aware of the mark she had made on his life in general.

"You find this amusing?" he asked, as he turned to face the blatantly self-satisfied woman. Her smile broadened. Putting a hand on his cheek, she leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before patting his arm lightly.

"Oh, Matt, you haven't the slightest notion," she confirmed, before walking off to join the others in their task.

It might have been an innocuous enough gesture, but it conjured certain ideas. He caught her up, whispering in her ear as he switched on his EMD and futilely attempted to put himself in 'creature containment' mode.

When he spoke, his voice was still rendered husky by considerations that had no association with anomalies.

"Just wait until I get you home tonight."

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed… I certainly did.**


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